Half an hour before Oliver arrived in the skies of Dawsbury…

'This is hopeless,' William thought as he forced himself to swing the wooden staff in his hands to end the life of the monster in front of him.

As the battle progressed, William felt that the staff in his hands were getting heavier. It was mostly due to his arms aching, and reaching their limit. It was at that time when he barely avoided a sneak attack by one of the Class C Beasts, Spiteseeker, from the sky.

This lapse in his concentration allowed the dog-like creature in front of him to use that opportunity to tackle him and pin him down to the ground. Sharp fangs bared themselves as the Ashteeth tried to bite WIlliam's neck.

However, the shepherd was able to use his staff to block the dog's teeth and prevented himself from getting bitten. A battle of strength ensued as the Ashteeth forced its jaw closer to William's face.

The stench of rotting flesh assailed William's nose as he gritted his teeth to resist the wolf's assault.

"Will!"

A familiar voice shouted and not long after, a steel spike embedded itself in the Ashteeth's forehead.

William forcefully kicked the dead monster to the side as he propped himself to stand. A young lady with blonde hair and blue eyes ran in his direction and supported his body.

"Are you alright?" Wendy asked. Her voice was laced with concern.

"I'm fine," William replied. "But, why are you here? What happened to the spot you were defending?"

Wendy shook her head as he dragged William away from the town's wall. "The walls have been breached. It is no longer safe to defend it."

As if waiting for that cue. A bugle horn sounded across the town which signaled the order to retreat to the second line of defense.

The second line of defense was where the watchtowers were located. The majority of mages, who didn't specialize in close combat, had already retreated to the watchtowers and were firing spells to help the defenders on the town's wall to evacuate.

William was still holding the staff in his hand, but he didn't have the strength to lift it. After the adrenaline had passed, he was left exhausted.

Wendy took William's arm and placed it over her shoulder to better support his body while they made their escape.

Several of the monsters ran after them, but they were shot down by Andy who was standing on the roof of a house and paying close attention to the evacuating students. The martial class instructors held the front, which gave the students sufficient time to retreat.

Those who had lost their strength were carried away by their comrades as they ran for their lives.

Andy sighed in relief when he saw that William was safe and sound. He shot arrows one after the other. He needed to buy as much time as possible for his students to reach safety.

When William and Wendy arrived at the second line of defense, a worried Ella immediately appeared by his side. The Angorian Goat had been carrying the wounded students from the walls to the infirmary during the battle and had lost sight of how William was doing.

Seeing that William was safe, the Angorian Goat went back to his side in order to protect him from further harm.

"Thank you," William said as Wendy supported him to sit on the ground.

"You're welcome, Will," Wendy replied and sat down beside him.

William sighed internally because his body was as heavy as lead. Since the battle started, he hadn't left the town wall and continued to defend his position for more than an hour. The loss of defenders due to miasma poisoning had placed him under great pressure. This in turn forced him to surpass his limits in fending off dozens of monsters at the same time.

The red-headed-boy was feeling drowsy as exhaustion washed over his body. He tried to fight it off, but his body was not cooperating with him. He nodded off several times, until he finally closed his eyes to sleep.

When he was about to let himself be taken by sleep's embrace, something sweet and cold assaulted his tongue.

He forcefully opened his eyes and saw Wendy gently feeding him a rejuvenation potion. He opened his mouth wider to allow more of the rich liquid in to help him recover. When the potion was all used up, William felt a quarter of his strength returned to his body.

It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep him awake and function at this crucial time.

"Thank you," William said with a smile. "Rejuvenation potions are expensive. How about I repay you by cooking for you for a week? My Master said that I'm a very good cook."

"Really?" Wendy asked with a hint of amusement.

"Mmm. Just don't blame me if you get addicted to my cooking."

"My standards, when it comes to food, are really high. Let's see if Sir William can back his words with his cooking."

The two stared at each other before chuckling at the same time. Both of them were trying to ease each other's tension. They knew that they didn't have long to rest before another round of battle would commence once the town wall had been breached completely.

William was about to say something when a powerful explosion reverberated from the town's wall. The two children glanced at each other before hurrying to climb one of the watchtowers to see what was going on.

"W-What is that?!' a mage shakily pointed at the center of the monster formation.

A giant black dog that was at least six meters tall, stared at them with glowing blue eyes. There were blue streaks of fur on its body that resembled lightning bolts as tendrils of electricity snaked around its body.

In the air, a deafening cry was heard as a giant, black-winged serpent made its presence known. Its body was made up of dark scales and its glowing blue eyes eerily gazed at the people who were defending Dawsbury as if to mock their futile attempts to stop the inevitable.

The wind started to pick up and dark clouds covered the horizon. A peal of thunder resounded in the heavens as flashes of lightning illuminated the black clouds that blocked the light of the sun.

Soon the entire town of Dawsbury was enshrouded in darkness, and yet, the countless glowing eyes from the Dungeon Monsters, who were almost upon them, didn't fade in the slightest.

William gulped as he used his appraisal skill to identify the two giant beasts that seemed to be the Masterminds that commanded the monster horde. Just a glance was enough to tell him that both of them were pretty bad news.

-----

-- Underworld Dog

-- Corrupted Guardian

-- Threat Level: S (Low)

-- Centennial Beast

-- Cannot be added to the Herd

-- This Mythical Beast was said to wield the power of lightning, fire, and death. A cursed creature that was so diabolical that not many dared to fight against it. According to legend, Xolotl guarded the sun as it set into the underworld every night. Ironically, this creature is hailed both as a destroyer and a savior at the same time. He who fights this myth should be weary, for it places a curse on anyone that defies it.

-----

-- Winged Serpent

-- Corrupted Guardian

-- Threat Level: S (Low)

-- Centennial Beast

-- Cannot be added to the Herd

-- This Mythical Beast wields the power of wind and rain. Sometimes hailed as the "Lord of the Dawn'', this creature can create powerful storms, hurricanes, and tornadoes that can destroy anything in their path. According to legend, this creature witnessed the creation of the world and even helped mankind during its time of need.

-----

William gritted his teeth as he stared at the two Mythical Beasts in front of him. He was about to shout and warn the instructors that they had to retreat at all costs when Xolotl roared and shot a lightning bolt, that was as big as a bus, towards William, Ella, and Wendy who were standing at the center of the defensive formation.

The red-headed-boy immediately pushed Ella, and Wendy, out of the way as the lightning bolt engulfed him and dyed his vision white.